Sri Lanka's Islamic party calls for removing excess army camps from Northern areas

Colombo: Sri Lanka’s main Islamic political party, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), on Monday called for removing excess military camps in the former war zones in the country’s north. [caption id=“attachment_2832714” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A file photo of Sri Lankan army in Tamil majority northern areas. Reuters[/caption] SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem said his party does not agree with the proposal that the army should be fully withdrawn from the north, Xinhua reported. He said there is a concern by the public that the army is still occupying property it does not require. He said the army must release property which needs to be given back to the people and have camps in the north which are only required for national security. The Sri Lankan army had earlier said it will not withdraw from the north despite the end of a 30 years civil war in 2009. Sri Lanka government battled Tamil Tiger rebels in a brutal war which saw thousands killed on both sides. However following the end of the war Tamil political parties have been calling for the withdrawal of the army from the north.